Cast Iron With Improved High Temperature Properties

ABSTRACT

A nodular, compacted graphite or other hybrid or duplex graphite morphology cast high silicon iron is disclosed which contains up to 1.5% tungsten, up to 0.8% vanadium, and up to 1.2% niobium; and at least 60.0% iron, all percentages are based on the total weight of the composition. This cast iron exhibits high strength and good ductility over a wide temperature range compared to the conventional SiMo ductile iron. The compositions may further contain, up to 1.5% molybdenum and up to 1.0% chromium to offer improvements in material strength. The compositions may include 0.2 to 0.5% by weight aluminum and up to 1.2% chromium for further oxidation resistance and 0.5 to 5.0% nickel for corrosion resistance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/678,950, filed on May 5, 2006. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to cast iron that exhibits improved strength and high temperature properties. More specifically, the present invention relates to cast iron alloys which contain certain amounts of carbide formers selected from the group including tungsten, vanadium and niobium. Other carbide formers such as molybdenum, and/or chromium may be employed in addition to at least one of tungsten, vanadium and niobium. Other alloy additions of silicon and aluminum for oxidation resistance are also disclosed. The cast iron may include a graphite morphology that is primarily nodular, vermicular or a combination referred to herein as hybrid or duplex.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cast iron alloys, and parts cast from the alloys are subject in use to an ever increasing range of challenging environments. Such parts must operate at high temperatures and withstand temperature cycling between periods of use. The parts must have good oxidation resistance and be resistant to mechanical and thermal fatigue and oxidative cracking at a competitive cost.

Silicon-molybdenum (SiMo) nodular or compacted graphite irons such as those presented in the comparative example of Table I herein are currently employed in the manufacture of exhaust manifolds of the high volume production engines because they often have advantages in terms of cost and durability. Such SiMo alloys exhibit improved high temperature strength and thermal fatigue resistance over many other known ductile cast irons, as well as improved high temperature oxidation resistance. However, the high oxidation rate at high temperatures remains a problem in parts such as exhaust manifolds and turbocharger turbine housings, where the in-use temperatures can reach 850° C. and higher. In addition, cast irons in these applications are also subject to thermal fatigue cracking. This is due at least in part to the thermal cycling during heating and cooling. Therefore, in use the part is cycled up to temperatures associated with engine operation and then back down to approximately room temperature. The part undergoes the thermal expansion upon heating and contraction upon cooling. This continued thermal cycling and associated thermal expansion/contraction is said to contribute to thermal fatigue in the part which, in time, leads to cracking.

In order to improve efficiency and reduce harmful emissions from internal combustion engines, exhaust gas temperatures have been gradually increasing. More exhaust manifold applications are running at close to the practical cracking temperature limit of SiMo irons. As temperatures increase, the cast iron is more prone to damage from lower strength at high temperatures, creep and oxidation resistance. It is desirable to have the sufficient mechanical strength of the alloy at elevated temperatures, while maintaining or improving the ductility at both room and elevated temperatures.

In an attempt to address the above described concerns, high strength at elevated temperature, good thermal fatigue resistance, good oxidation resistance, and adequate ductility is required. Certain alloying elements have been employed in conventional SiMo cast iron compositions in an effort to address these concerns.

For example, according to JP Pat. No. 2002-339033 (Nobuaki), cast iron alloys containing silicon, molybdenum, manganese and vanadium have higher heat resistance than the conventional ductile irons. Nobuaki further indicates that alloys containing vanadium and manganese (Mn) improve the elevated temperature physical properties of a nodular graphite iron. Specifically, Nobuaki defines Mn+V in the range of 0.3-2.0% by weight (preferably 0.4-1.8% by weight) while Mo content is 0.3-1.0% by weight (preferably 0.3-0.7% by weight).

In addition to the cast iron alloys containing vanadium and manganese mentioned above, cast iron alloys that contain tungsten (W) and arsenic are also known for high temperature applications in JP Pat. No. 10-195587 (Takao). The Takao patent suggests that exhaust manifolds formed from the subject alloy are excellent in ductility in the moderate temperature embrittlement region near 400° C., using 0.03-0.2% arsenic to the conventional high silicon ductile iron containing 3.5-5.2% silicon. The high silicon nodular or ductile iron has the phenomenon in which ductility falls to minimum at about 400° C.; this is called the moderate temperature embrittlement phenomenon (or moderate temperature brittleness). Arsenic is intentionally added to reduce the moderate temperature brittleness of all kinds of cast irons including high silicon nodular irons and alloyed nodular irons.

While such compositions may address one or more of the perceived issues with conventional SiMo cast irons, still further improvements are demonstrated under the present invention.

Further, because of the high demand of molybdenum in the steel and iron industries, the price of Mo fluctuates dramatically, increasing the cost of conventional SiMo cast irons.

The iron alloys of the present invention including one or more of tungsten, vanadium and niobium give rise to alloys exhibiting the combined properties of high mechanical strength and ductility. Further parts cast from such alloys are readily machined, abrasively cleaned at room temperature, can withstand oxidation at high in-use temperatures and can withstand thermal-mechanical fatigue cracking during cycling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The high silicon iron composition of the present invention contains up to 1.5 wt. % tungsten, up to 0.8 wt. % vanadium, and up to 1.2 wt. % niobium, preferably in combination with at least one of molybdenum and chromium. The cast iron alloys of the present invention yield high strength and good ductility over a wide temperature range, compared to conventional SiMo iron having nodular, compacted graphite iron or other graphite morphologies. The addition of higher silicon and aluminum offers improved hot oxidation resistance, compared to conventional SiMo iron having nodular, compacted graphite iron or other graphite morphologies. In preferred embodiments, the iron alloy of the present invention contains, from about 0.02 to 0.8% vanadium, from about 0.03% to about 1.5% tungsten, from 0.02% to about 1.2% niobium, from about 2.8 to about 5% silicon, from 2.8% to about 3.8% carbon, less than 0.06% magnesium, and less than 0.02% cerium, the balances being at least 60.0 t % iron and impurities, with all percentages based on the total weight of the composition. The compositions may further contain up to 1.5% molybdenum, up to 1.0% chromium, up to 5.0% nickel and between 0.2 and 3.0% aluminum.

Articles cast from the compositions of the invention are ductile and can withstand thermal cycling without failure. Such articles find use in a variety of automotive transportation and industrial applications. Such applications include, but are not limited to, exhaust components such as exhaust manifolds, turbocharger housings, hot end components such as catalytic converter housings and fuel cell components. Generally, the cast iron compositions of the invention may be used in any application calling for nodular or compacted graphite iron, Ni-Resist ductile iron, chrome molybdenum steel, or a low grade stainless steel.

The compositions of the invention provide cast iron articles having desired combinations of elevated temperature strength, ductility, high oxidation resistance, and thermal fatigue resistance. The cast iron compositions of the present compositions are considered to be a viable alternative to the conventional SiMo nodular and compacted graphite irons. They are useful generally in any iron application, particularly high temperature cast iron applications.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

FIG. 1 is a graph setting forth a comparison of the influence of tungsten on strength at 800° C. to that of molybdenum;

FIG. 2 is a graph setting forth a comparison of the influence of tungsten on strength at room temperature to that of molybdenum;

FIG. 3 is a graph setting forth weight change rate versus exposure time at the temperature of 820° C. for different materials measured by daily cyclic oxidation testing; and

FIG. 4 is a graph setting forth average depth of oxide scales measured after testing in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Because the compositions of the present invention are alternative materials to the conventional SiMo irons used in high temperature applications, the composition of the invention can be referred to as “high silicon iron alloys” or “modified high temperature SiMo” alloys which include more than an impurity level of molybdenum. Thus, the phrases “modified high temperature SiMo” and “modified SiMo” will be used interchangeably to refer to the cast iron compositions and molded articles of the present invention containing molybdenum.

Cast iron articles of the invention are prepared by pouring a molten composition into a mold. The molten composition is a cast iron composition containing, in addition to at least about 60% by weight iron, tungsten at levels up to about 1.5% by weight, vanadium at levels up to about 0.8% by weight, and niobium at levels up to about 1.2% by weight. Most often the cast iron composition includes at least 80 wt. % iron. Vanadium at the appropriate levels is believed to increase the high temperature strength of the cast iron articles, but too high vanadium would result in too much vanadium carbide thus decreasing ductility significantly. Tungsten at the appropriate levels is believed to increase the elevated temperature strength of cast irons. More particularly, tungsten is believed to improve high temperature creep and fatigue resistance. Tungsten appears to have comparable strengthening characteristics as molybdenum, and both form very fine tungsten or molybdenum carbide precipitates. However, higher tungsten content is generally associated with higher carbide content. This makes the cast articles tend to be more brittle with some risk of cracking during thermal cycling, as for example, in normal automotive engine use, or during simulative or accelerated engine dynamometer durability tests. Thus, the upper limit of tungsten should be no more than about 1.5% by weight. The preferred amount of tungsten is from about 0.03% by weight to 0.8% by weight. Niobium at the appropriate levels of between about 0.02% and 1.2% are believed to increase the ductility at room and elevated temperatures and improve high temperature properties.

In order to further increase the oxidation resistance and/or increase the nodular or compacted graphite content of the compositions of the present invention, up to about 3.0% by weight aluminum.

The iron compositions may further comprise silicon and carbon. Silicon is generally present in an amount of from about 2.8% to about 5.0% by weight. In a preferred embodiment, silicon is present at a level of from about 3.9% to 4.6% by weight. Carbon is generally present in an amount such that the weight percent carbon plus ⅓ the weight percent silicon is numerically equal to a value up to about 4.9%, preferably up to about 4.7%.

It is generally preferred that the compositions of the invention contain less than 0.02% sulfur. Higher sulfur levels tend to lead to a requirement for additional magnesium additions and cause more rapid fading of magnesium during the treatment step to control production of either compacted (vermicular), nodular graphite structures or other graphite morphologies. For similar reasons, it is preferred to keep the oxygen content of the compositions low, typically less than about 0.005% (50 ppm). Phosphorus should also be kept to minimum, preferably below about 0.04%.

The desirable properties of ductility and machinability exhibited by the compositions of the invention are believed to derive from the microstructure of the modified SiMo alloys. The graphite present in the molded articles is predominantly present in either nodular or vermicular form. When greater than 80% of the carbon is present as graphite nodules, the compositions are generally referred to as ductile irons. In a preferred embodiment, the nodularity is greater than about 85% for ductile irons. When the nodularity is less than about 50% (i.e., when less than about 50% of the carbon is present as graphite nodules), the compositions are referred to as compacted or vermicular graphite iron. In compacted graphite irons of the invention, nodularity is generally about 50% or less, with the remainder of the graphite predominantly present in vermicular form. High levels of flake graphite are undesirable.

If the nodularity is between 50-80% a structure referred to as hybrid or duplex graphite exists. It is an iron containing significant fractions of both nodular graphite and compacted or vermicular graphite. In a preferred embodiment, the hybrid or duplex graphite iron has a nodularity of from 60% to 75% (i.e. 60-75% of the carbon is present as graphite nodules); the remaining is in the form of compacted or vermicular graphite.

Various composition trials as set forth in Table 1 were conducted to analyze high temperature strength, manifold durability, ductility and oxidation properties at room temperature of the formulations of the present invention. The high temperature performance during simulative durability testing of exhaust manifolds formed from the alloys of the present invention were also carried out. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the remainder of the compositions presented in Examples 1-21 include iron and impurities.

Keel blocks and/or Y blocks of various compositions were cast with different alloying elements such as niobium, vanadium, tungsten and molybdenum as presented in Table 1. The comparative example is a conventional SiMo iron containing about 4% silicon and 0.8% molybdenum. Examples 1-13 are compositions prepared according to the processes of the invention.

The tensile tests of test bars cast from compositions of the invention give some information and insight into the structure of the materials of the invention. The ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and elongation measurements for a comparative example and Examples 1-13 are given in Tables 2-4 below.

Examples 1-3 are irons in which vanadium and/or tungsten is used instead of molybdenum. The tensile testing for the comparative example (the conventional SiMo ductile iron) and the example 1 containing 0.3% vanadium and 0.5% tungsten is given in Tables 2-4 from room temperature to 900° C. It can be seen that Example 1 has the mechanical properties which are similar to or even better than the conventional SiMo iron of the comparative example. This indicates that 0.8% molybdenum in the conventional SiMo ductile irons can be completely substituted by vanadium and tungsten while the tensile properties are maintained or may even be better. The composition of the invention as demonstrated in Example 1 has up to 18% elongation at room temperature, so the material of the invention shows ductility indicating the machinability may be similar to the comparative example. Examples 2 and 3 have 0.1-0.3% vanadium and 0.4-0.6% tungsten and both have comparable tensile properties to the comparative example (the conventional SiMo iron).

Examples 4-6 are improved SiMo irons and have 0.2-0.3% vanadium added into SiMo ductile iron containing 0.5-0.6% molybdenum. It can be seen from Tables 2-4 that the addition of vanadium and molybdenum may increase the high temperature strength such as at 800° C., while the ductility at room temperature is reasonable, i.e. there is about 10% elongation for room temperature and more than 25% for 800° C.

Examples 7-10 showed that the compositions of the invention containing tungsten and molybdenum have mechanical properties comparable to the conventional SiMo iron after some of molybdenum in conventional SiMo irons is at least partially replaced by tungsten.

Examples 11 and 12 use tungsten, vanadium, niobium, and molybdenum in the ductile iron containing about 4.2% silicon. It is shown from the Tables 2-4 that the strength at high temperature is significantly increased, compared to conventional SiMo cast iron as set forth in the comparative example. It is also important to note that the ductility at room temperature is more than 6%.

Example 13 uses niobium in the ductile iron containing about 4.35% silicon. It is shown from the Table 4 that the ductility at room temperature and 800° C. is higher than conventional SiMo cast iron as set forth in the comparative example.

TABLE 1 Example C, % Si, % Mn, % P, % S, % Mg, % Mo, % V, % W, % Nb, % Al, % Comparative 3.36 3.97 0.36 0.015 0.007 0.030 0.78 0 Ex  1 3.26 3.99 0.35 0.016 0.010 0.036 0.31 0.51 0  2 3.28 3.90 0.27 0.008 0.012 0.020 0.11 0.6 0  3 3.33 3.92 0.29 0.008 0.011 0.020 0.3 0.4 0  4 3.24 4.12 0.30 0.015 0.013 0.035 0.52 0.21 0  5 3.27 3.98 0.31 0.015 0.011 0.035 0.6 0.21 0  6 3.22 3.98 0.29 0.014 0.011 0.032 0.6 0.3 0  7 3.49 3.92 0.34 0.009 0.010 0.026 0.49 0.59 0  8 3.41 4.04 0.33 0.008 0.008 0.021 0.48 0.78 0  9 3.46 3.97 0.30 0.008 0.008 0.021 0.58 0.21 0 10 3.48 4.25 0.33 0.01 0.0087 0.024 0.58 0.64 0 11 3.28 4.19 0.33 0.011 0.009 0.035 0.86 0.51 0.76 0.88 0 12 3.38 4.18 0.32 0.012 0.012 0.036 1.14 0.75 1.29 0.91 0 13 3.28 4.35 0.29 0.013 0.010 0.030 0 0 0.086 0.58 0 14 3.35 3.99 0.36 0.016 0.011 0.037 0.30 0.51 0 15 3.45 4.15 0.33 0.009 0.011 0.023 0.41 0.43 0 16 3.15 4.45 0.31 0.010 0.011 0.016 0.85 0 0 0 0 17 3.35 3.99 0.36 0.016 0.011 0.037 0.30 0.51 0 18 3.06 4.46 0.26 0.017 0.0082 0.029 0.51 0 0 0 0.4 19 3.41 4.47 0.30 0.016 0.008 0.030 0.59 0 0 0 0.4 20 3.1 4.4 0.30 0.015 0.011 0.028 0 0 0.65 0 0 21 3.16 4.40 0.32 0.012 0.010 0.024 0 0 0 0 0.35 Balance = iron and impurities.

TABLE 2 Ultimate Tensile Strength (ksi) Temperature, ° C. 20 300 400 425 500 600 700 800 850 900 Comparative Ex 88.75 77.85 68.48 68.17 52.35 29.43 14.15 6.8 5.9 7.02 1 91.67 80.5 71.17 67.5 50.6 27.43 14.2 7.38 7.3 2 81 6.51 3 90.3 6.92 4 86.5 7.37 5 83.5 7.36 6 85 7.95 7 83 6.75 8 84 6.85 9 82 6.77 10  83.8 6.89 11  101 79 19.5 7.1 12  104 7.65 13  85.6 5.56

TABLE 3 Yield Strength (ksi) Temperature, ° C. 20 300 400 425 500 600 700 800 850 900 Comparative Ex 67 59.15 54.81 56.03 42.7 21.74 10.31 4.82 3.85 4.39 1 67.83 59.75 56.5 54.5 40.3 20.9 11.37 5.69 4.42 2 62 4.89 3 69.75 5.39 4 65.5 5.46 5 67.5 5.82 6 67.5 6.01 7 63 4.87 8 63.8 4.87 9 61.3 4.7 10  63.3 4.79 11  75.75 62 15 4.29 12  77.75 5.20 13  66.7 2.75

TABLE 4 Elongation (%) Temperature, ° C. 20 300 400 425 500 600 700 800 850 900 Comparative Ex 16 9.9 5.8 5 25 45.3 49.7 61.4 49 62.6 1 18 11.2 6.8 8.1 29.7 45.1 43.7 45.5 51.8 2 8.5 26.2 3 15.8 42.9 4 11.4 22.4 5 10.5 49 6 10 43.9 7 10.9 61.3 8 10.8 46.7 9 15.3 27.3 10  9.5 59.5 11  9 4.0 24.3 33.4 12  6.1 34.8 13  22.3 82.1

Comparison of the strength at 800° C. between molybdenum and tungsten in the high silicon ductile iron containing 4% silicon is now provided. The additions of tungsten range from 0.2% to 0.8% by weight in order to compare the SiMo iron containing 0.2% to 0.8% molybdenum respectively. It has been found that the 1.0% W is equivalent to about 0.8% Mo in the range of 0.77-0.83% Mo, based on the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and yield strength (YS) at 800° C. The Mo equivalent (Mo.E) is found as the following: Mo.E.=% Mo+0.8×% W. The regression curves given in FIG. 1, with R-squared values (the square of the correlation coefficient) of 0.988 to 0.997. It was found that a molybdenum equivalent is Mo %=0.5×W %, i.e. the strengthening effect of 1% tungsten in steels is equivalent to about 0.5% molybdenum at room temperature.

Comparison of the strength at room temperature is also provided between molybdenum and tungsten in the high silicon ductile iron containing 4% silicon. The additions of tungsten range from 0% to 1.2% by weight in order to compare the SiMo iron containing 0% to 1.2% molybdenum respectively. It has been found that the 1.0% W is equivalent to about 1.0% Mo in the range of 0.96-1.05% Mo, based on the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and yield strength (YS) at room temperature. The Mo equivalent (Mo.E) is found as the following: Mo.E.=% Mo+1×% W. The regression curves given in FIG. 2, with R-squared values (the square of the correlation coefficient) of 0.997 to 0.999, suggest that a molybdenum equivalent is Mo %=0.5×W %. Thus the strengthening effect of 1% tungsten in steels is approximately equivalent to 0.5% molybdenum at room temperature.

The strengthening effect of tungsten (i.e. 1% W=0.8% Mo at 800° C. and 1% W=1% Mo at room temperature) found in the composition of the present invention is different than in heat resistant steels in which 1% W=0.5% Mo in terms of strengthening effect.

As the atomic weight of tungsten is twice as much as molybdenum, one would expect the tungsten to have 50% the effect of molybdenum (i.e. 1% W is equivalent to 0.5% Mo in terms of strengthening). This is seen in the steels mentioned above, but is not seen in the alloys of the present invention. In the compositions of the present invention, the tungsten has 80-100% the effect of molybdenum (i.e. 1% tungsten is equivalent to 0.8-1% molybdenum) both at room temperature and 800° C., which was surprising.

To test for one or more of elevated temperature strength, ductility, high oxidation resistance, and thermal fatigue resistance, manifolds were cast from the formulations set forth as Examples 14-20. It should be noted that generally thermal cycles of greater than 1500 without significant distortion of the test component (exhaust manifold), under the test conditions set forth are considered to be successful.

EXAMPLE 14

A manifold for a 6.0 liter engine was cast from an iron composition containing 3.35% carbon, 3.99% silicon, 0.3% vanadium, 0.51% tungsten, with additions of Mg, Ce, rare earths and the remainder being iron plus impurities, all percentages being presented as percentages by weight. The microstructure displayed good nodularity (about 95%), nodule count of about 400 nodules/mm², no pearlite and about 3% carbide. The carbide is blocky vanadium carbide and some tungsten-rich precipitate which is similar to the molybdenum-rich precipitate in the SiMo irons.

The manifold was evaluated in an engine exhaust simulation test. The test consisted of 1810 thermal cycles before failure. The test included heat shields applied with an exhaust gas temperature of 1616° F. (880° C). A thermal cycle consisted of a 6 minute heating portion with burners on followed by a 6 minute cooling period with burners off. During heating, the exhaust gas had a temperature of about 860-900° C. and portions of the surface of the manifold reached temperatures varying from 760° C. to around 780° C. After the burners are turned off, the exhaust gas and manifold cool down within a period of 4 or 5 minutes to a uniform temperature of about 70° C. The manifold showed good stability and heat resistance in the engine exhaust simulation test. These results were comparable to tests run with SiMo chemistry of the comparative example.

EXAMPLE 15

A manifold for a 6.0 liter engine was cast from an iron composition containing 3.45% carbon, 4.15% silicon, 0.43% tungsten, 0.41% molybdenum with additions of Mg, Ce, rare earths and the remainder being iron plus impurities, all percentages being presented as percentages by weight. The microstructure displayed good nodularity (approximately 94%), nodule count (approximately 350 nodules/mm²), 6 to 10% molybdenum-rich and tungsten-rich precipitates, very low pearlite levels (below 5%) and carbide (approximately 1%) levels.

The manifold was evaluated in an engine exhaust simulation test. The test consisted of 1790 thermal cycles prior to failure. This test included heat shields applied with an exhaust gas temperature of 1616° F. (880° C.). A thermal cycle consisted of a 6 minute heating portion with burners on followed by a 6 minute cooling period with burners off. During heating, the exhaust gas had a temperature of about 860-900° C. and portions of the surface of the manifold reached temperatures varying from 760° C. to around 780° C. After the burners are turned off, the exhaust gas and manifold cool down within a period of 4 or 5 minutes to a uniform temperature of about 70° C. The manifold showed good stability and heat resistance in the engine exhaust simulation test. These results were comparable to tests run with SiMo chemistry of the comparative example.

EXAMPLE 16

A manifold for a 6.0 liter engine was cast from an iron composition exhibiting a hybrid/duplex graphite microstructure containing 3.15% C, 4.45% Si, and 0.85% Mo with additions of Mg, Ce, rare earths, and the remainder being iron plus impurities. This test included heat shields applied with an exhaust gas temperature of 1616° F. (880° C.). A thermal cycle consisted of a 6 minute heating portion with burners on followed by a 6 minute cooling period with burners off. During heating, the exhaust gas had a temperature of about 860-00° C. and portions of the surface of the manifold reached temperatures varying from 760° C. to around 780° C. After the burners are turned off, the exhaust gas and manifold cool down within a period of 4 or 5 minutes to a uniform temperature of about 70° C. The test consisted of 2012 thermal cycles prior to failure.

EXAMPLE 17

A manifold for a 6.0 liter engine was cast from an iron composition exhibiting a nodular graphite microstructure containing 3.35% carbon, 4% silicon, 0.3% vanadium and 0.51% tungsten with additions of Mg, Ce, rare earths and the remainder being iron plus impurities, all percentages being presented as percentages by weight. This test included heat shields applied with an exhaust gas temperature of 1616° F. (880° C.). A thermal cycle consisted of a 6 minute heating portion with burners on followed by a 6 minute cooling period with burners off. During heating, the exhaust gas had a temperature of about 860-900° C. and portions of the surface of the manifold reached temperatures varying from 760° C. to around 780° C. After the burners are turned off, the exhaust gas and manifold cool down within a period of 4 or 5 minutes to a uniform temperature of about 70° C. The test consisted of 1977 thermal cycles prior to failure.

EXAMPLE 18

A manifold for a 6.0 liter engine was cast from an iron composition exhibiting a nodular graphite microstructure containing 3.15% carbon, 4.46% silicon, 0.4% aluminum and 0.51% molybdenum with additions of Mg, Ce, rare earths and the remainder being iron plus impurities, all percentages being presented as percentages by weight. This test included heat shields applied with an exhaust gas temperature of 1616° F. (880° C.). A thermal cycle consisted of a 6 minute heating portion with burners on followed by a 6 minute cooling period with burners off. During heating, the exhaust gas had a temperature of about 860-900° C. and portions of the surface of the manifold reached temperatures varying from 760° C. to around 780° C. After the burners are turned off, the exhaust gas and manifold cool down within a period of 4 or 5 minutes to a uniform temperature of about 70° C. The test consisted of 1515 thermal cycles prior to failure.

EXAMPLE 19

A manifold for a 6.0 liter engine was cast from an iron composition exhibiting a nodular graphite microstructure containing 3.41% carbon, 4.47% silicon, 0.4% aluminum and 0.59% molybdenum with additions of Mg, Ce, rare earths and the remainder being iron plus impurities, all percentages being presented as percentages by weight. This test included heat shields applied with an exhaust gas temperature of 1616° F. (880° C.). A thermal cycle consisted of a 6 minute heating portion with burners on followed by a 6 minute cooling period with burners off. During heating, the exhaust gas had a temperature of about 860-900° C. and portions of the surface of the manifold reached temperatures varying from 760° C. to around 780° C. After the burners are turned off, the exhaust gas and manifold cool down within a period of 4 or 5 minutes to a uniform temperature of about 70° C. The test was stopped at 1565 thermal cycles because a fastener was sheared off during testing and the engine head actually failed in tensile due to distortion of the manifold. So the test was incomplete.

EXAMPLE 20

A manifold for a 6.0 liter engine was cast from an iron composition exhibiting a nodular graphite microstructure containing 3.1% carbon, 4.4% silicon and 0.65% tungsten with additions of Mg, Ce, rare earths and the remainder being iron plus impurities, all percentages being presented as percentages by weight. This test included heat shields applied with an exhaust gas temperature of 1616° F. (880° C.). A thermal cycle consisted of a 6 minute heating portion with burners on followed by a 6 minute cooling period with burners off. During heating, the exhaust gas had a temperature of about 860-900° C. and portions of the surface of the manifold reached temperatures varying from 760° C. to around 780° C. After the burners are turned off, the exhaust gas and manifold cool down within a period of 4 or 5 minutes to a uniform temperature of about 70° C. The test was stopped at 1321 thermal cycles because a fastener failed during testing and the engine head actually failed in tensile due to distortion of the manifold. Thus, the test was incomplete.

Oxidation resistance was also tested in accordance with the below described evaluation.

EXAMPLE 21

High temperature oxidation resistance was measured. 16 mm thick Y-blocks were cast and cut into rectangular-shaped specimens with three as-cast surfaces and three machined surfaces. The coupon dimension for oxidation testing is approximately 22×20×16 mm. FIG. 3 shows the weight gain rate as a function of exposure hours at 820 C for four materials whereas small squares stand for 4.0% Si-0.6% Mo, solid circles for 4.4% Si-0.6% Mo, empty circles for 4.4% Si-0% Mo, and triangles for 0.35% Al-4.4% Si-0% Mo. After the total exposure time of 512 hours, the depth of oxide scales was measured, as shown in FIG. 4. From FIGS. 3 and 4, the following findings can be listed.

Oxidation resistance is improved when the Si content is increased from 4.0% to 4.4%. The resistance consists of weight gain, depth of oxide scales, and oxide adhesion. There is little change in oxidation resistance when molybdenum is increased from 0 to 0.6%. For the non-Al containing samples, the difference is evident between the as-cast and machined surfaces in the oxidation behavior. With the addition of 0.35% Al alloyed specimens significantly improved oxidation resistance (weight change, depth, and especially oxide adhesion). In contrast to non-Al specimens, there is much less difference between as-cast and machined surfaces for the 0.35% Al alloyed materials.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A high silicon cast iron composition comprising: greater than about 60 wt. % iron; between about 2.8 to about 5.0 wt. % silicon; from about 0.03 to about 1.5 wt. % tungsten; up to about 0.8 wt. % vanadium; and up to about 1.2% niobium.
 2. The cast iron composition of claim 1, further comprising at least one constituent selected from the group consisting of molybdenum, chromium, nickel and carbon.
 3. The cast iron composition of claim 1, wherein said vanadium is present in an amount of between about 0.02 to about 0.8 wt. %.
 4. The cast iron composition of claim 1 wherein said niobium is present in an amount of between about 0.02 to about 1.2 wt. %.
 5. The cast iron composition of claim 2 wherein said molybdenum is present in an amount up to about 1.5 wt. %.
 6. The cast iron composition of claim 2 wherein said aluminum is present in an amount of between about 0.2 and 3.0 wt. %.
 7. The cast iron composition of claim 2 wherein said nickel is present in an amount of between 0.5% and about 5.0 wt. %.
 8. The cast iron composition of claim 2 wherein carbon is present in an amount such that the wt. % carbon plus ⅓ the wt. % silicon is up to about 4.9 wt. %.
 9. Products formed from the cast iron composition of claim
 1. 10. A molded article comprising a nodular, compacted graphite or hybrid or duplex graphite having a cast iron composition, wherein the cast iron composition comprises: greater than about 80 wt. % iron; between about 2.8 to about 5.0 wt. % silicon; from about 0.03 to about 1.5 wt. % tungsten; from about 0.2 to about 1.2 wt. % niobium; and up to about 0.8 wt. % vanadium.
 11. The molded article of claim 10 wherein said vanadium is present in an amount of between about 0.02 to about 0.8 wt. %.
 12. The molded article of claim 11 further comprising between about 0.2 to about 1.5 wt. % molybdenum.
 13. The molded article of claim 11 further comprising between about 0.2 to about 3.0 wt. % aluminum.
 14. The molded article of claim 11 further comprising between about 0.5 to about 5.0 wt. % nickel.
 15. The molded article of claim 11 wherein carbon is present in an amount such that the wt. % carbon plus ⅓ the wt. % silicon is up to about 4.9 wt. %.
 16. The molded article of claim 10 wherein the article is an exhaust manifold.
 17. The molded article of claim 10 wherein the article is a turbocharger component.
 18. The molded article of claim 10 wherein the article is a catalytic converter housing.
 19. The molded article of claim 10 wherein the article is a fuel cell component.
 20. A high silicon cast iron composition comprising: At least 60 wt. % iron; between about 2.8 to about 5.0 wt. % silicon; from about 0.2 to about 1.2 wt. % niobium; up to about 1.5 wt. % tungsten; up to about 0.8% vanadium; and. at least one constituent selected from the group consisting of molybdenum, aluminum, nickel and carbon.
 21. The cast iron composition of claim 20, wherein said vanadium is present in an amount of between about 0.02 to about 0.8 wt. %.
 22. The cast iron composition of claim 20 wherein said molybdenum is present in an amount up to about 1.5 wt. %.
 23. The cast iron composition of claim 20 wherein said tungsten is present in an amount of between about 0.003 to about 1.5 wt. %.
 24. The cast iron composition of claim 20 wherein said nickel is present in an amount of between 0.5% and about 5.0 wt. %.
 25. The cast iron composition of claim 20 wherein carbon is present in an amount such that the wt. % carbon plus ⅓ the wt. % silicon is up to about 4.9 wt. %. 